Fungus among us

[alfie]

Hi, my veggies and flowers have shown lots of various signs of fungus this year. We had a long cool spring followed by sometimes daily rains. I'm about to pull out my tomatoes. But there is rust on my beans (but they don't care) and my very crowded flower beds have many, many brown leaves. Are you having the same troubles? What do you do? I have read for about an hour this morning...baking soda, milk, vinegar, aspirin, compost tea.....the lists goes on and on and into the non-organics which I ignore.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. Milk spray with epsom salt

1 gallon water, 1/4 cup dry milk, fat pinch of epsom salt. My tomatoes love this. It won't kill the fungus, but it feeds calcium and helps the roots uptake potassium? from cold wet soil. Greens up everything you spray it on, within a few days you'll be amazed.
I forget who posted it here first, but they deserve the credit.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I also use the dry milk spray

on plants that are prone to fungus problems. If you start this early in the growing season, and continue it throughout, it does keep the problems at a manageable level. The plants seem able to cope with fungus better.

You say you aren't interested in non-organics, but just know that even if you decided to use them now, it is too late for them to work either....just so you are not tempted.

[alfie]

4. Thanks, Curmudgeoness

I won't be tempted but will keep in mind using the milk spray starting early next year. That is an issue I am now worried about...it is all over my yard now. Maybe it will be dormant next year if it is not so rainy...but maybe not. Think I'll designate one garden sprayer as my milk spray bottle. And, as stated above...might just green things up a bit as well with the extra calcium.

[elleng]

3. Neighbor's (actually abandoned town house) roses,

a favorite of mine last year, loaded with crap as you describe. Sprayed with Neem for aphids, and haven't done much else. Do water + feed them, and harvest. As not a real gardener, I have no advice. Sorry

[femmocrat]

5. I use Daconil. We have also had too much rain.

But you have to use it very early in the spring as a preventative. It's too late now. My tomatoes are just starting to show signs of blight on the lower leaves.

Everything else still looks ok. The pumpkins usually get powdery mildew on the leaves, but they are in a partly shady location.